Kendenup Primary School team finish sixth at Interschool Chess National Finals held online

An eager group of students have helped Kendenup Primary School return strong results at the Interschool Chess National Finals held last month.

The national competition was again held online, with Kendenup Primary School taking part against other primary schools around Australia.

The event was run over two days and the Kendenup students came into school early to participate against their rivals.

Teams were made up of four players each playing seven games, and all scores counted towards their respective team totals.

Hayden Bunker, Matilda Chitty, Logan Van Vliet and Kate Mitchell made up the Kendenup team.

They performed exceptionally well against a majority of schools with far bigger cohorts.

Earlier this year Kendenup Primary School had 65 students enrolled, according to the Department of Education.

Kendenup finished as the highest scoring WA school, coming in sixth overall in the primary school division.

The foursome played well across the competition, learning from the lectures and comments that were provided as feedback in between games.

Kendenup finished with a total score of 15, with Tasmania’s Waimea Heights Primary the champion school on 211/2.

Hayden was the standout performer, winning five of his seven games to finish seventh in the individual standings with a score of five.

He was also awarded the most improved player of the tournament award.

Normally teams would have to place in their State competition to qualify for the nationals but, due to COVID and travel restrictions, this year’s online event was open to more schools.

Kendenup Primary School principal Heather Fergie praised the students for their top performance.

“Congratulations to all of the team, and a special ‘thank you’ to Mr Bill Sandilands who always supports our chess efforts here at Kendenup Primary School,” she said.